Pirates claim 7 All-ECC softball spots, including 3 on the first team

Danielle Mann’s outstanding two-year run as a Gilman Pirate ended with one more all-conference honor, while juniors Kayleigh James and Kenlyn Kroeplin made big bumps up to the first team in the voting process for the 2024 All-Eastern Cloverbelt Conference softball team.

In all, seven Pirates earned awards in the voting with Abby Chaplinski and Ava Warner landing on the second team and Allison Olynick and Jayda Rosemeyer both earning honorable mention.

The honors follow a 13-8 season that included a 10-2 mark in the conference under veteran head coach Brian Phelps, good for second place behind 12-0 Columbus Catholic.

Mann’s second straight first-team award in the Eastern Cloverbelt completes four years of all-conference recognition for the senior, who was a second-team All-Marawood North pick in 2022 and an honorable mentionee in 2021 while playing for Rib Lake.

This spring, she served as Gilman’s top pitcher and supplied some offensive punch out of the fourth spot in the Pirates’ batting order.

In conference play Mann was almost impossible to retire, recording a .776 batting average and an .825 on-base percentage. She hit five doubles and a homer to contribute to a slugging percentage of 1.125.

In the pitching circle, Mann was 8-1 in conference play with a 3.54 earned run average. She struck out 43 hitters and walked 22.

Highlights for Mann in conference play included a 15-1 win over Neillsville-Granton on May 13 when she was two for three with a three-run double, four runs batted in total and threw six onehit innings with six strikeouts and just two walks, plus a two-for-two day against Spencer on April 26 when she homered, drove in two runs, scored three runs and threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts in a 15-0 win. She was two for four with a double and pitched five innings with four strikeouts and one hit allowed in a 12-2 home win over Colby-Abbotsford on April 25.

In non-conference play May 16, Mann was three for four with a grand slam home run, a double and seven runs batted in, plus she threw all seven innings in an 18-9 win at Phillips. Mann had two hits, including an RBI single and struck out three batters in six innings of work in Gilman’s 8-7 loss at Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran May 22 in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal. The Pirates nearly erased an 8-4 seventh-inning deficit in that loss.

James and Kroeplin, who made the honorable mention list last year, joined the 10-member first team this spring after strong junior seasons.

James, the Pirates’ leadoff hitter and second baseman, did not commit an error in conference games and hit .426 with a .627 on-base percentage. She hit two doubles and a triple in conference play and reached on opponent errors 10 times.

The triple was part of a one-for-two day with two walks in a 12-2 win at Spencer on April 15. She was two for four with a double in the 12-2 win over Colby-Abbotsford and had one of the few big hits Gilman got in a 20-0 win at Owen-Withee on April 23 where the Pirates drew a ton of walks. She had a key hit in the go-ahead rally that sparked the team’s 16-5 win at Loyal-Greenwood on May 3.

James was three for five with a triple and two-run single in the Phillips win and had two of Gilman’s hits in a 14-3 loss at Immanual Lutheran April 22. She had two hits in a season-opening 7-3 loss to Laona-Wabeno at Rhinelander on April 6.

Kroeplin started the season at shortstop and eventually moved to centerfield and hit a strong season at the plate, filling the number-two spot in the order early in the year and the number-three spot later on.

She posted a .409 batting average in conference play and a .632 on-base percentage. She hit two doubles and a triple in league play and had a solid .889 fielding percentage.

Kroeplin’s conference season was highlighted by multi-hit games at Loyal Greenwood and in the 15-1 win over Neillsville-Granton. She drove in three runs at Owen-Withee, had an RBI double in a 12-2 win over Owen-Withee May 9 and had three RBIs at Owen-Withee.

She did quite well against non-conference foes too, going three for five at Phillips, collecting two hits in the WIAA loss to Immanuel Lutheran, going two for four with a triple and two RBIs against Laona-Wabeno and going three for four with a double and two RBIs in an 11-5 loss to Flambeau at the Hodag Dome.

Columbus Catholic put four players on the first team, led by senior second baseman and Eastern Cloverbelt Conference Player of the Year Sam Casperson, who along with junior pitcher Akosua Yeboah are repeat first-team picks. Sophomore Shelby Spata and senior Mattea Schlafke are the other two first-team picks from Columbus. Loyal-Greenwood seniors Mya Rueth and Tiffany Mitte and Neillsville-Granton junior Keltie Schoen complete the first team. Rueth is another repeat selection from last year.

With three second-team picks and three more players gaining honorable mention, Columbus Catholic had 10 award winners. The Dons finished 17-5 overall and were the only conference team to win a WIAA tournament game. They beat Pittsville 12-2 in their Division 5 regional semifinal before losing 9-4 at Pepin-Alma in their regional final.

Chaplinski is on the second team for the second straight year. Gilman’s third baseman, hit .400 in league play with two doubles and an on-base percentage of .560. She had an .827 fielding percentage at the hot corner. She started the season hitting third in the batting order and then settled into the fifth spot later in the spring.

Chaplinski had a key two-run double in a 16-15 win over Neillsville-Granton May 7 and hit an RBI double and RBI single in the home win over Owen-Withee. She had two hits and three RBIs at Spencer and a hit and three RBIs at Owen-Withee. Non-conference highlights included doubles in both season-opening games at Rhinelander, two hits at Phillips and an RBI single in the playoff loss.

Chaplinski also earned All-ECC softball honorable mention as a freshman.

Warner returned to the All-ECC second team, an honor she also earned in 2022. She spent most of her time at catcher or shortstop and hit in the fifth and sixth spots in the batting order and finished with a .360 league batting average with a .541 on-base percentage. She ended with an .865 fielding percentage at those demanding positions.

Offensively, her highlights included a two-for-five outing with two runs scored in the win at Loyal-Greenwood and a twofor- four outing with two runs scored in the 15-1 win over Neillsville-Granton. She was two for three at Phillips and had two hits, including an RBI single in Gilman’s postseason loss.

Rosemeyer caps her prep softball career with her first conference honor. The senior held down the first base position again this year and did it well, posting an .897 fielding percentage. She hit .289 in league play and a .422 on-base percentage, generally hitting seventh in the lineup. She doubled in the home win over Colby-Abbotsford and had a two-run single in the home win over Owen-Withee to her credit.

Olynick’s honorable mention award is the first in softball for the versatile sopho- more, who figures to be a major piece in Gilman’s lineup puzzle for the next two years. She finished the year at shortstop, but also put in time in the outfield and at catcher and posted a strong .923 fielding percentage. She hit a solid .389 in 12 conference games with a .617 on-base percentage and .937 slugging percentage. She did most of that damage out of the ninth spot in the batting order.

Olynick was three for three with three runs scored in the home win over Spencer and was two for three in the 15-1 win over Neillsville-Granton. She homered in a 17-9 non-conference loss at Colfax on May 14 and was two for two with three walks in the win at Phillips.

Kayleigh James First Team

Ava Warner Second Team

Kenlyn Kroeplin First Team

Abby Chaplinski Second Team

Jayda Rosemeyer Hon. Mention

Allison Olynick Hon. Mention